Alvin Kaunda knew he would be close to elephants while reporting on a story at the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Nairobi, Kenya.
He just didn’t imagine that the elephants would want to get THAT up close and personal with him.
Even though Kaunda had an elephant groping his head during his newscast, he still tried to keep it together as best as he could.
That is, until he couldn’t and exploded with laughter. Kaunda was shooting a segment for Kenya Broadcasting Corp., or KBC News, at the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, which rescues and rehabilitates orphaned animals.
Kaunda was there to tell a very serious story.
One is about the threat elephant and other wildlife are facing in Kenya. The country has been facing terrible droughts.
The country hadn’t seen droughts like that in at least 40 years. The harsh weather is reportedly responsible for the deaths of 2o times more elephants than poaching.
Kaunda tried his best to keep his composure while telling the story, but the elephants weren’t about to let that happen.
They had other ideas. They weren’t content with being props in the background. They wanted to shine on screen.
So, while Kaunda was giving his very important speech, the elephants decided to mess with him. One elephant starts peering over his buddy toward the camera.
Then he sees his opportunity to make his mark.
He taps Kaunda on his ears with his trunk. Meanwhile, Kaunda is keeping his cool. He keeps a straight face and went on with his news report.
So, the elephant realized that he had to try a little bit harder. That’s when he starts making his way up Kaunda’s head.
Still, Kaunda’s face is stone cold.
The elephant, however, was not about to let this go. He started making his way down Kaunda’s face.
He starts groping Kaunda’s forehead, but Kaunda keeps on talking.
That’s when the elephant reaches over and places his trunk over Kaunda’s nose and over his mouth
That’s when Kaunda burst out laughing. He just couldn’t contain himself any longer.
“At first I felt the elephant trunk’s contact on my back but decided to keep going because I was doing my almost 10th take of my piece to camera,” Kaunda told Storyful. “I wasn’t gonna let anything stop me. Until the baby elephant stuck its trunk in my mouth.”
What Kaunda was trying to explain was that Sheldrick Wildlife Trust has raised more than 300 orphaned elephants and works to combat poaching.
However, the elephant was intent on stealing the show. The video of Kaunda and his new elephant friends ended up going viral.
It was viewed more than 88,000 times on the trust’s Facebook page.
“Alvin must be a very good man indeed. The Elephants know. Think of how safe these babies must feel.”
“This video is certainly making the rounds in the mainstream media and social media. Love it. I’m surprised Alvin held it together as long as he did,” said another.
Watch the adorable moment unfold in the video below!
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